Falling Through Time
by SweetTale4u
Summary: Time turner magic. Can visits to the past change the future or are we doomed to stay on the same path. Can a true friendship change the course of a man's life? Of the wizarding world? Slow burn.
1. People Are Strange When You're a Strange

**1993, Hogwarts**

The first time it had happened it was purely by accident.

The time turner dust seems to stick to her skin like the muggle glitter she'd used in primary school. No matter how much she rubbed the flannel against her skin, she couldn't completely get rid of the miniscule particles.

Earlier that evening…

She'd been so concerned with the essay that Professor Snape has assigned that she hadn't noticed the last step on the moving staircase. Bracing herself for what would surely be a nasty spill she barreled straight into the arms of her dreaded potion's master.

"Miss Granger, clumsy girl!" he sneered as he struggled to extract himself from her person, resulting in her landing very unceremoniously on her bottom.

"I-I-I'm s-s-sorry Professor," she stammered as she tried to get to her feet.

Straightening to his full and impressive height he dusted off his robes before retrieving a handkerchief from an inside pocket of his voluminous robes and proceeding to very loudly blow his enormous nose.

"Twenty five points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger," he said. She had a while ago figured it was fruitless to ask any professor why points were being deducted, let alone Professor Snape.

Hermione watched in disbelief as he offered her no assistance and went about his way.

Retrieving her satchel and the books that had scattered on the cold stone floor she hurried to her next class.

It was only later that evening over dinner in the Great Hall that she had noticed the problem. As she pulled the shiny chain from around her neck, the small time turner she'd been using all year fell out onto her hand. She gasped in horror as she noticed the basal of the hourglass was cracked and none of the time magic dust remained. Her exclamation only slightly disturbed Ron and Harry's relentless pursuit to see who could shove more food in their mouth.

She looked around in terror. She had been given this device as a sign of her responsibility and in recognition of her maturity. She was doomed. McGonagall would never forgive her. She would be expelled. Maybe even bough up on charges at the Ministry.

Shoving the device back inside her blouse she excused herself to a chorus of mumbled goodbyes and hurried off to her rooms. There beneath the dim light by her bed she disrobed and saw the result of her earlier collision with Professor Snape.

Her chest was bruised and covered in the time turner's dust. Her fair skin glittered in the light of the candles in the room. The fine particles of magic had ruptured leaving her covered in magic and knee deep in trouble.

She found her night clothes and headed to the shower. The shower didn't help much, after struggling in vain to rid herself of the particles she dressed and headed back to her bed. Absentmindedly rubbing her chest one last time she failed to see the shimmer of magic as she crossed the threshold of her room.

 **Summer 1974, Spinner's End**

"Who are you?" A voice that cracked a bit spoke from behind her. She turned slowly and faced a young man, not much older than her pointing a very long black wand at her.

She looked around, purposely ignoring the young man. She needed to find out where she was. Had she walked through a hidden door in the castle? Taking a good look she noticed the room didn't look like any she'd ever seen in the castle. Then again with a castle that big, no one really knows what one will find. The current occupant of the room was a very angry boy with greasy black hair and a spotty complexion. He was taller than she was and had a very unfortunate looking nose. His eyes however were boring into her in the darkest shade of black she'd ever seen… well she had seen ones like that but that was impossible…

She looked at his tattered robes that hung from the weather warn wardrobe and saw the green and silver crest of Slytherin house. The trunk on the front of the bed was similar to hers, although it looked worse for wear than any she'd seen in her house. Hermione also noticed a couple of posters on the wall, one of which was of the Doors. She smiled to herself, she'd had a crush on Val Kilmer since she'd seen his portrayal of the Lizard King and she wondered if the boy in front of her liked the movie as well.

"So you like the Doors? I loved the movie," she tried to sound calm. She needed to find out exactly where she was and the angry, slightly sweaty boy in front of her was by far her only means of knowing.

The question had him lowering his wand slightly, but only a bit as he pondered her question.

"What movie?"

"You know, it came out a couple of years ago, 91 I think, with Val Kilmer and Meg Ryan," she answered as she slowly walked out from under the end of his wand and started to look more closely around the small room. The room was sparsely furnished and the furniture that was there was very old. The sheets on the bed were threadbare and the little personal items that were on display were a hodgepodge of broken knickknacks. She suddenly felt sad, a tightening in her chest. This room made the Weasley's look like a rich family.

"My name is Hermione," she said, smiling at the boy that was watching her with a curious eye.

"What may I ask are you doing in my room Hermione, and how did you get here?" he asked, his voice cracking a bit, even as he tried his best at being aloof.

"I don't know, I was on my way back to my rooms and here I am."

"You don't look familiar, are you at Hogwarts?" the young man figured she was a witch, she hadn't mentioned his use of the wand. Magic was the only explanation as to why there was suddenly a bushy haired, slightly bucked tooth girl in his room.

"I'm a third year Gryffindor," she smiled, knowing he would likely scowl at the rival house.

"Figures as much, you Gryffindors think you can do anything you want. I would ask you kindly to please leave by the same way you came."

"Are we in Slytherin house? I mean, I have never been and this could be their rooms," she looked around again, pity showing in her features. It was a really sad state of affairs if this was the way Slytherins treated their students.

"No we are not, we are in my home and I would ask again that you leave right now, no one needs your pity."

He turned and stalked over to his bed. Sitting with his back to her she wanted to say something, to apologize for being whatever it was he thought she was.

She walked back to where he sat and placed a trembling hand on his shoulder. She immediately pulled away as if she'd burned him.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to ask your name," she tried to smile, tried to put him at ease. It was obvious he wasn't used to human contact.

The curtains of his long black hair almost reached his shoulder; she wanted to push it back so she could see his face. He was so pale and it looked like he hadn't eaten well in days.

"Severus Snape," he answered his voice unsteady and low.

Her eyes widened and she stumbled back towards the door. It couldn't be. It couldn't be.

He stood and turned to see the horror of his revelation reflected on her face. He was sure she'd finally heard of the greasy snivellus and was now just realized who she was with.

"Now that you know, please go!"

"Y-y-you d-d-don't understand," she murmured, trying desperately to make heads or tails about what was going on.

Her heart began to beat wildly in her heart, her eyes frantically scanning the room for clues. There it was, plain as day. The books, the magazine, the posters, even the clothes that he wore.

"How, how old are you?"

He scoffed, exasperated with her behavior but curious as to why she wanted to know, "I'm 14."

Running her hands through her wild curls she turned and made for the door, her hand rubbing the spot on her chest where her heart felt like it would explode. As she reached for the knob, everything went black.


	2. 1974

**Thank you for your kind reviews and your follows. It means so much to have you all following along at home. I am navigating solo on this story, I have my beta working on another tale. So any mistakes you find are my own. This is not your typical time turner goes awry story. If you like, please drop a review. Thanks again and happy reading.**

* * *

 **1974**

Hermione opened her eyes slowly and felt around the unfamiliar bed for her wand. There next to her it rested. The lights were dim and she saw that she was still in the same dank and dingy room. She sat up quickly which wasn't a good idea. Panic attacks were common for Hermione. At school she controlled them with deep breathing exercises her mother had taught her but it all had been too much and she'd passed out. She felt her head for any bruises and found none. She smiled briefly wondering how it had looked with the young Severus Snape catching her once again, this time having to carry her to his bed. She looked around and saw that she was alone. Standing she grabbed her wand and made for the door when she opened it she found Snape holding a small tray with a couple of very small sandwiches and a couple of glasses of milk.

"I thought you'd be hungry," he looked around nervously. It was obvious he wasn't used to having guests and he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another as he waited for her to step aside and let him back into his room.

"Oh, thanks," she managed a weak smile his benefit. If she were honest with herself, she was scared. She had studied time travel magic before she was granted the use of the time turner and any interactions with the past are taboo to say the least. She didn't know whether to run screaming from the room or just simply sit and eat. She chose the latter and closed the door. She turned away from the closed door and saw him setting the small tray on the nightstand by the bed. The setting sun painted lines across the worn wooden planks of the floor and the stifling heat made it difficult to breathe.

"Do you mind opening a window?" She knew he couldn't cast any cooling charms being under aged. She wondered briefly what would happen if she used her magic in this time. Wondering again at his age, she sat at the edge of the bed and turned to face the room's occupant.

"What year is it?" She asked as she took one of the small cucumber sandwiches. She nibbled on it slightly as she watched his expression of worry change to befuddlement as he pondered her query.

"It's 1974, how could you not know what year it is?" he answered, his own mouth full of food. She noticed that instead of scarfing down the food he ate slowly savoring each and every bite.

"You're the first boy I've seen eat so slowly," she smiled shyly. She didn't want to admit she had been admiring the cut of his jaw and the way his mouth formed the words when he spoke. Never mind the way his neck muscles moved when he swallowed. She still couldn't believe this young man would one day be her angry potion's professor.

He colored slightly at her question; he put down the small piece of bread as if to hide it in his hand. His fingers, while not as graceful as she'd seen them as his student, were still long and slightly calloused.

He was clearly uncomfortable by her comment and she immediately felt remorseful.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, "Sometimes I don't think before I speak," she grinned.

"No, it's okay. We don't have much, as you can tell," he motioned around the dimly lit room. "The food is even more sparse so you have to make it last, so chewing slowly helps," he frowned slightly. It was then that she noticed just how think he was. The clothes he wore fit poorly and he was all elbows and knees.

She felt her face redden in embarrassment. She knew that not all purebloods were wealthy like the Malfoys, the Weasley's for one were stretched for means at times, but she never imagined them living in these conditions.

She wanted to apologize, to remove the look of pity from her face but she found she couldn't. He didn't need her pity and she was ashamed at feeling it. The professor she knew always moved with a practiced air of grace and affluence. She would never imagine he came from such meager beginnings.

"So you said your name was Hermione, Hermione what?"

It sounded to Hermione that he wanted to change the conversation and she couldn't be more grateful. She hadn't been known for her tact up to now and feared she might stick her foot in in deeper than it already was.

"Hermione Granger," she answered.

"So how is it that you don't know what year it is?" He wasn't going to let it go, she'd ignored the question in favor of mentioning the way he ate but it was looking like she was going to have to share with him.

"I-I…"

"Does it have something to do with this?" he dug in his pocket and pulled out the long chain with the time turner spinning on the end.

Her hands went to her chest where she noticed it was missing. She wondered how she hadn't felt the weight missing. Then she remembered the lack of sand. Sighing she nodded her head.

"When, that is, what year are you from, and how is it that you traveled both through time and space? Sounds like something from Doctor Who."

Hearing him mention her mother's favorite program bought a slight smile to her face. Would she be stuck here forever?

"I'm from 1993," she said. She waited and watched his reaction.

"That doesn't explain how you are right here, unless you live here in 1993."

"I was on my way to my room in Gryffindor tower. I have never been here…where is here exactly?"

"Spinners End, Cokeworth," he said.

Hermione stood and walked over to the window. It was almost dark now and the streets below reflected the poverty of the area. The homes were in dire need of repair and upkeep and the streets were cracked and littered with scattered debris. In the distance she could see the smoke still rising from the factory smokestacks. This was a working town, a far cry from the neighborhood she had grown up in. She turned back and looked at Severus. He was still contemplating her situation.

"It doesn't make any sense. Time Turners are said to take you just a few hours back in time, not nineteen years. They are also not made to travel through space. Are you sure this is a standard issue Time Turner, also what is a third year student doing with a Time Turner. Aren't they under the authority of the Ministry?" Snape asked. His eyebrows furrowed in thought as he stood to rummage through his truck. Pulling books from the very bottom she wondered what texts if any he had to explain her current predicament.

"I was given the Time Turner by Professor McGonagall," she said.

"McGonagall you say? It figures…," he said shaking his head in disbelief.

That angered Hermione; Professor McGonagall was her head of house and favorite professor.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked crossing her arms and cocking her hips slightly.

"It's just that McGonagall is not above playing favorites," he mumbled under his breath.

"That's rich coming from you," she said before she remembered just exactly who she was talking to.

He cocked his head and stood in one fluid motion. The scene was diminished greatly by his lack of flowing vestments but the air of authority was not lost in translation. He turned and faced her, his nose almost touching hers before he leaned in and whispered.

"What do you mean by that Miss Granger?"


End file.
